Russian presidential election, 1996

The Russian presidential election of 1996 was held on June 16 (first round) and July 3 (second round), 1996. The election marked the end of Boris Yeltsin's first term as President of Russia and was highly controversial due to Yeltsin's shady dealings and assistance from the United States in getting reelected. In January 1996 he was polling very low, far behind his main rival, Gennady Zyuganov of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, due to the poor state of Russia in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many held him accountable for the numerous economic problems in the country. Yeltsin nonetheless was able to win the largest share of the vote in June 1996 with 35%, compared to Zyuganov's 32%, causing a runoff to be held on July 3 in which he won with 54%. The election remains controversial today and many do not believe that Yeltsin was the legitimate winner.

1st round

 * Liberal dot.png Boris Yeltsin - 35.8%
 * Communist dot.png Gennady Zyuganov - 32.5%
 * Reactionary dot.png Alexander Lebed - 14.7%
 * Liberal dot.png Grigory Yavlinsky - 7.4%
 * Fascist dot.png Vladimir Zhirinovsky - 5.8%

2nd round

 * Liberal dot.png Boris Yeltsin - 54.4%
 * Communist dot.png Gennady Zyuganov - 40.7%